The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 278 is Grambling basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of Grambling basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 0
- Elite Eights: 0
- Sweet 16s: 0
- NCAA wins: 1
- Bids: 1
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 11.3
- Bids per season: 0.02
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 0
- NBA players drafted & played: 11
- Conference Players of the Year: 5
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 5
- Conference tournament titles: 1
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on Grambling basketball
In the grand scheme of things, Grambling hasn’t been a great program in the DI ranks, only averaging a little over 11 wins per season. But comparatively, in the SWAC, they’ve had some great moments.
First off, the Tigers have won the SWAC regular season five times – 1987, 1989, 2018, 2023, and 2024. Their lone SWAC Tournament win came in 2024, with the Tigers taking down Montana State in the First Four for their first and only win in the big dance.
But before they went DI, Grambling produced some great players, helping their case in the department of NBA players drafted and played in the Association, with 11 of them.
The most famous is Willis Reed, who enjoyed a Hall of Fame career with the New York Knicks, depsite an injury forcing him into an early retirement.
It’s been decades upon decades since Grambling has even produced an NBA player, but deep history like that still counts, giving the Tigers the 278th spot in our countdown.
The program had started to dominate the SWAC recently under Donte Jackson, but he is now at Alabama A&M. Year one of Patrick Crarey took a step back, but it’s just the beginning of his time there, so we’ll have to wait and see.